Efficiently accelerated free electrons by metallic laser accelerator

Dingguo Zheng; Siyuan Huang; Jun Li; Yuan Tian; Yongzhao Zhang; Zhongwen Li; Huanfang Tian; Huaixin Yang; Jianqi Li

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-41624-9

Efficiently accelerated free electrons by metallic laser accelerator

Nat Commun. 2023 Sep 20;14(1):5857. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41624-9.

Authors

Dingguo Zheng^{1

2}, Siyuan Huang^{1

2}, Jun Li¹, Yuan Tian^{1

2}, Yongzhao Zhang^{1

2}, Zhongwen Li¹, Huanfang Tian¹, Huaixin Yang^{1

2

3}, Jianqi Li^{4

5

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China.
² School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China.
³ Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, 523808, Dongguan, Guangdong, China.
⁴ Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100190, Beijing, China. ljq@iphy.ac.cn.
⁵ School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049, Beijing, China. ljq@iphy.ac.cn.
⁶ Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, 523808, Dongguan, Guangdong, China. ljq@iphy.ac.cn.
⁷ Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, 518055, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. ljq@iphy.ac.cn.

Abstract

Strong electron-photon interactions occurring in a dielectric laser accelerator provide the potential for development of a compact electron accelerator. Theoretically, metallic materials exhibiting notable surface plasmon-field enhancements can possibly generate a high electron acceleration capability. Here, we present a design for metallic material-based on-chip laser-driven accelerators that show a remarkable electron acceleration capability, as demonstrated in ultrafast electron microscopy investigations. Under phase-matching conditions, efficient and continuous acceleration of free electrons on a periodic nanostructure can be achieved. Importantly, an asymmetric spectral structure in which the vast majority of the electrons are in the energy-gain states has been obtained by means of a periodic bowtie-structure accelerator. Due to the presence of surface plasmon enhancement and nonlinear optical effects, the maximum acceleration gradient can reach as high as 0.335 GeV/m. This demonstrates that metallic laser accelerator could provide a way to develop compact accelerators on chip.